Smooth Dhalia's

By andrll-ann · Oct. 06, 2014

Dahlia Piercings

Beforehand:

I've been doing a lot of research on this piercing, and not much came out of it. So I decided to take the time to review my experience as time goes by, and so contribuate to educate people on body modifications, as the more we know the better! I am not a licensed piercer, so please only take my experience as one more review to help you choose and gather more informations on this delicate piercing!

At the piercing studio:

So as usual, I went to who I consider the safest and moat talented piercer in town, Pat of Mauve situated in Montreal. His studio is, sadly, the only one that is certified by APP in Montreal. Actually, there is only another one in the province and it's in Quebec city! Anyways, if you ever come around please go see him. Rarely will you meet a piercer so eager to take his time ( for free may I specify!) to give as much informations as he can on body modifications! After talking to him about the piercing on wednesday, I couldn't wait as I figured out I should do for once and took a rendez-vous to get pierced on the following saturday. I assumed I could live with that decision, after years of lusting after this lovely piercing. I was truly reassured. He told me Dhalias, if carefully placed, could avoid the thicker cheek tissue and so heal more like a tricky lip piercing, may I say. He told me I would have to be pierced in 14g because of the highly movable area in the corner of the mouth. I must also mention that he only pierces with quality jewelry, such as Anatometal and BVLA, which is way to rare and should be the norm everywhere. Surprisingly, he said that he could pierce me with a 2mm end if I wanted, as the bars would be long enough. I told him my concerns about that and he reassured me about the fact that the length of the bars plus the fact that the bar gauge is smaller couldn't interfere. As you always read everywhere that piercer always use bigger ends at first, I was skeptic, but also I know even APP standards are a bit out -dated (not modified since the 90's) and I wanted to try it out. So after hearing all these good news, I was ready to come back and get my new holes.

The day of the piercing:

Please: eat well before you do this. You will be able to after, but it's just so much more complicated with a swollen mouth and bars sticking out and getting in the way! So I did, and headed to the studio at 3:30. As I had a rendez-vous, he was available right away. Usually, if you walk in on a saturday, chances are you are gonna wait a really long time, or that he won't be able to squeeze you in his schedule, even tho he will do everything to please his customers. But he's the only piercer in his studio, and he's really looking more for quality than for quantity! Also expect it to be more expensive than the norm. Think about it: experience, great customer service, quality jewelry and most importantly, IMPECCABLE SAFETY MEASURES. I really emphasizes that, you'll never see a piercer change his gloves so often ( just try to notice!). Pat has such high standards and just overall takes cross-contamination so seriously, which once again, should be the norm. Really gets us thinking about the fact that there should be regulations in the piercing industry.

Anyways, I came in and slipped in the clean plastic slippers. Before signing the papers and all, we talked a bit and he brought me in the piercing space to simply check my cheek and mouth tissue to see if the piercing would actually possible with the jewelry he had available and just the overall shape of my anatomy. We discussed a bit, and I told him if piercing me in 16ga would even be possible. He thought about it for a moment, and said that if we would choose the spot right over where the thicker cheek tissue start, he might be able to fit it in the regular, safer skin you usually pierce lip piercings in. It's in these moments you realize how important the piercer's knowledge and experience with human anatomy is, makes all the difference! So we went back to the front so I could sign the papers, stating that I am 18 years old or older, and making sure I was in a good state to get my body traumatized by needles :) He put some 14ga and 16ga 11mm labret posts and 2mm princess cuts zirconica crystals, all Anatometal of course, in the sterilizer and when everything was ready, we went back in the piercing room to get my two corner mouth piercings finally done. After he cleaned the room in front of me, his assistant brought the cleaned jewelry and a pair of pliers just in case he would need them. He made me sit on the medical-style bed, and checked my skin tissue carefully again. At first he placed them too high, and I got worried that when he talked about the 16ga we didn't understand each other about the placement. I really didn't want these to look like two really low monroe piercings! He then placed them lower towards the lip corners and told me that something like that or lower would be giving me a perpetual frowning look ( which I truly do no wanted either) and that this would need to be pierced in 12ga or 14ga as it is pretty much the same tissue as a regular cheek piercing. I freaked out a bit, but after cheecking once again he changed the marking 1mm up, just on top of the thicker tissue and told me that on this placement, using a 16ga post would be possible. He checked on the other side and it worked too. I was quite relieved that this was going to work! I do not mind the scars, but 12ga is pretty huge for two holes in the middle of my face. He then measured both sides to make sure the placements were identical, and after looking at myself a few time in the mirror, and him looking at me from different angles and distances, we were both satisfied. I told him that I trusted him anyways :)

He asked me to lie down on the medical bed, and just start taking deep breath and relaxing while he was preparing his stuff. Easier said then done, I always get the same thrill and stress when I lie on that bed. I have to tell myself silly stories in my head when I get pierced to forget about the pain, meditation doesn't work in these moments for me ahah.

When he was ready, he asked me to lie straight on the bed and slightly turn my head on the side so my cheek would face him. He then cleaned it again, verified the placement and then asked me to take a deep breath and exhale. I felt pretty much nothing, it went so smoothly that it was really surprising. I was ready to have tears all over my face, just like when I got my monroe or my philtrum done ( this last one was in a so very sensitive area). But the pain was almost nothing. He then put the long jewelry bar in, and did the other one. Once again, almost no pain, and a very quick operation overall. I was relieved, but he told me his worries. The placement was perfect, but because of the thick cheek tissue just underneath, they were really angled towards the bottom and he wasn't satisfied. I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. I was in love with them already! I was afraid he would ask me to take them off the redo it for free in a few weeks, but he brought in a solution. He said that he wanted to keep the outside placement, but could repierce 1/4 of the flesh tunnel now to angle them in a straighter way instead of having to take them off in two weeks. He really didn't like the inside point of exit of the piercings. I wasn't sure about that, but he has my total trust so I lied on the bed again, ready to suffer :)

That was quite painful. The side of my lips were already swollen a bit, and it took him about 1-2 minutes each ( if my sense of time wasn't distorted by pain) to replace them. After he was done though, he was really satisfied. There was a huge difference, for only a tiny bit of skin kind of repierce. They were now perfect tiny perfect shiny little dots on each side of my mouth, just on the right placement so they are not anoying the my teeth and that I didn't loom either frowny and over-happy when they are placed too high all the time, may I say! Now the hard part would be not to smile and laughall the time, which I always do! :)

I was feeling a bit dizzy, so I sat for a moment. His assistant and receptionnist then refreshed my mind with the piercing care I should do for the next few weeks/months. In two words: salted water. It really works wonders. Rince your mouth with it and for the outside, bathe your piercing in it 2, even 3 times a day is better for 15 minutes each time. I was swollen a lit after only a few minutes, but I still left and promised to come back before my next appointment in one week if there was anything wrong with it in the meantime. I could speak and laugh, but the skin was really tender but trying not to is quite hard for me :) I hate a bit of vegan ice cream as they told me milk was prohibited because of the bacterias in it. Overall, all went good for the first night. No squirrel-looking swelling, even though I swell more then the average person and always need to get longer bars ( let's see if it happens again this time). I rinced my mouth with water after I ate, bathed them in salted water and then took it easy for the night!

The morning after:

I woke up this morning, and it really wasn't that annoying. No yummy lymph or crust around it, which is fine with me! The swelling is the same as yesterday, or if it's worse it isn't really perceptible. One appears more angled down than the other, but I cannot really say because they are so swollen. I'll get back on this in a week or two when the swelling gets down. I can still eat ,slowly, even though I slur my words out of carefulness. They are slightly red, which is normal for such a recent wound. There isn't much to say, it really is going smoother then I thought!

Day three:

The swelling on the left one has gone down a bit, which allowed me to notice that this one is healing very well. On the other hand, the right one was giving me some trouble. I didn't really paid attention until now, but even though the outside placement is on point, the exit of the piercing inside of my mouth was on an awkward angle which, when the bar will be shorter, will surely hurt and interfere a lot with my teeth and gums. I decided to go see my piercer again, to have his opinion on this. After taking a look, he told me that it really wasn't much, but that after repiercing it while it was still swollen, it obviously was hard to get the perfectly straight angle. He said that the best would be to take it out now and repierce it in two weeks or so. Sadly, I saw this coming and he did so. I am a perfectionnist, and so is he, so even though many people would have kept it that way, I really want to keep these tricky piercings as long as possible so I want them as perfect as my anatomy can allow it. I'll keep you posted on the healing of the left one, and I'll be bacl with the right one in a few weeks from now!

The rest if to follow, sweet thanks!

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submitted by: andrll-annon: 06 Oct. 2014in
Dahlia Piercings

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